The road back to the roster is proving to be a longer one than expected for new Yankees’ starting pitcher Carlos Rodón. On the new Talkin’ Yanks show that Boone joins Jomboy on, he said that Rodón’s progress is being delayed due to some back tightness that he is exhibiting, thus causing him to not be able to throw. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious and that he’s able to return in the next few weeks. That initial belief that he could be back within a week or so doesn’t seem to be coming to fruition.
The Yankees took a big gamble when they signed Rodón to the massive 6-year deal worth $160 million. The organization knew the risk they were taking with him, but it’s still early days, and I’d much prefer him injured now than in September. It’s important for the team to take it slow and not to rush him back so that he can fully heal up for the postseason stretch.
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Coming off a career year, don’t give up hope on the Yankees’ big signing:
Rodón hasn’t played a full season of baseball in his entire career, but that shouldn’t, nor did it deter fans from being excited about his arrival in the Bronx. He’s a phenomenal pitcher when on, it just sucks that he’s had some injury issues in the past. Fortunately, the injury update had nothing to do with his forearm strain but something completely unrelated.
Last year, Rodón put together the best season of his career. Over 178.0 innings, he struck out 11.98 guys per nine, walked a measly 2.63, and posted an ERA & FIP of 2.88 & 2.25. He was dominant for the Giants but ultimately chose to leave and head back to the East and join a team that can content for a World Series. Now, we must wait for him to get back on the bump.
Once Rodón does join the rotation, I imagine that it’ll be Domingo German that is taken out of the current 5-man. He’s been objectively the worst pitcher there, even though Schmidt hasn’t been much better. It’s simply a fact that he has the better stuff, though maybe the team would rather him be used in a bullpen role, where his stuff can play up in shorter instances.
As long as Carlos Rodon is healthy in September, all is well:
Every game counts, but keeping guys healthy and allowing them to find a groove in the back half of the season is far more important than dominating opponents in April. It’s not the end of the world when you have a down month in the first month of the season, so I’d prefer them take it slow with Rodón rather than rushing him back and then him not being fully healthy.
I’m not losing any sleep over the fact that Rodón has a slight hiccup in his recovery process, and neither should majority of fans. It was a risky signing when the Yankees made it, and it still is right now. He’s an elite pitcher when he pitches, we just have to deal with the injuries and put a smile on our face when he’s back healthy. Rodón and Cole 1-2 is a dream playoff front two, and that’s what the name of the game is.
Hopefully, we get more updates on Rodón in the coming days, and they’re positive ones. I’m sure Rodón also knows his body and what he’s going through better than we do, so I say we just let things play out and let the big-money signing get entirely healthy before the team tosses him out on the bump. It’s a long season, folks, don’t get discouraged just yet.